Under Tank Heaters or UTH are not able to heat the thick substrates, so these are useless. Red and Blue incandescent bulbs can also be used for heat but they don’t last as long as the ceramic heaters do.

Another lighting element that can be used with all scorpion species is a black light. For whatever reason, black lights cause all scorpions to fluoresce an eerie bluish green color. Why this happens is still unknown to science. It does make for a very interesting vivarium look when the scorpion is out and about wandering at night.

Feeding of the Flat Rock Scorpion Hadogenes troglodytes is the same as it is for most other arachnid species. Feed only 2-3 appropriate size crickets per week. Babies will eat pinhead size crickets, while adults will consume full grown ones. Maintenance of the enclosure itself consists of removing fecal material as it is seen. Monthly dump the entire substrate out and clean the entire enclosure with a bleach and water solution of 1 capful of bleach to 1 gallon of water. Wash out the enclosure with the solution and then rinse it out repeatedly until you can no longer smell bleach. Replace the substrate and décor and for a little variety move the basking spot to a new area.

While the Flat Rock Scorpion Hadogenes troglodytes is considered a delicate species it will bring many years of enjoyment to the new and old arachnid keeper who is tired of the same old species in their enclosures and is not as hard to maintain as some may think it is. Follow the outlined care above and enjoy the species as a new addition to your home.

Not doing so will give the entire enclosure a natural appearance. The substrate should be at a depth of 3”-4” in total. Since this species is not known for burrowing there is no need to provide the pre-dug burrows as we have mentioned in other scorpion articles here on this site.

Lighting per se is not a requirement for any scorpion species or arachnids for that matter. If you do want to add a light of some type the best way to do so is with an under cabinet fluorescent light fixture. These can be purchased at most home improvement or hardware stores. If you plan on adding live plants to create a vivarium, then I would definitely use a plant grow bulb to simulate natural sunlight for the plants. I would also use an inexpensive timer to place the light on a regular schedule of daytime that matches the daylight cycle of your area.

As far as heating is concerned I use a 65 watt ceramic heating element. This is enough to achieve the required 80-85 degree Fahrenheit baking spot required. Make sure to use a reflector which has a ceramic socket as well. The other plastic ones have a tendency to melt at high heat levels. The rest of the enclosure should be maintained at 70-75 Degrees Fahrenheit.

Another option is to use the same materials but this time, put them together in a horizontal setting and this way you would be able to remove the entire rock piece as one and clean as needed. This is the best option and it’s definitely easier maintenance. In a captive environment this is the method we have used and have had success with. Instead of doweling you can chip off pieces of flagstone or slate and use these to separate the levels of the larger pieces that make up the platforms where the scorpion will rest. All of the ledges and shelves must be secured to singular large base piece to offer stability.

After the above is glued and allowed to dry for 2 to 3 days its time to place this into the enclosure itself. Place the network directly onto the floor of the enclosure prior to putting in any substrate as this will prevent any injuries should the scorpion attempt to burrow beneath the shelves. Pour in the substrate which has been mixed as we instructed earlier and while most of this should be poured onto the bottom there is no reason to brush off all the individual shelves.

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